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Sam Ehlinger #4 of the Denver Broncos scrambles against the San Francisco 49ers.
The Denver Broncos had some shuffling to do on their roster before facing the Dallas Cowboys, with star linebacker Dre Greenlaw’s one-game suspension upheld. In the interim, the Broncos made moves with Sam Ehlinger and Kyrese Rowan.
Both players are familiar with the Broncos’ system.
That presumably makes them ideal short-term roster replacements for Greenlaw, specifically in Ehlinger’s case.
Broncos Fill Dre Greenlaw’s Roster Spot With Sam Ehlinger
“We’ve promoted QB Sam Ehlinger to the active roster,” the Broncos’ social media team posted on X on October 22.
Ehlinger, 27, initially signed with the Broncos during the offseason, but he was placed on the practice squad at the end of the preseason. The Broncos cut Ehlinger on October 17, a move that signaled Greenlaw was set to make his 2025 debut after a quad injury sidelined him.
The Broncos re-signed Ehlinger to their practice squad the following day.
Ehlinger is behind starter Bo Nix and backup Jarrett Stidham on the depth chart, but Broncos head coach Sean Payton has lauded his QB3’s skill set and intangibles.
“He’s extremely athletic. He’s comfortable throwing on the run. There’s a little moxy to him. Sometimes it can be a little big for guys. But with him, not at all. You feel like a guy that has played well before and his confidence, and he carries himself that way. He’s very good off the pocket, very good off schedule. He’s strong. I like the player a lot,” Payton told reporters in August. “There’s winning traits. There’s football IQ. You’re still evaluating the keys: arm strength, location. I like the foot athlete that he is and, yeah, his pedigree.”
DenverBroncos.com’s Aric DiLalla noted that “Ehlinger spent the first six weeks of the season on the Broncos’ active roster and served as the team’s emergency quarterback on game day. Ehlinger was on the Broncos’ practice squad for last week’s game against the Giants.”
Kyrese Rowan Takes Sam Ehlinger’s Spot on Broncos’ Practice Squad
GettyStone Blanton #50 of the San Francisco 49ers defends against Kyrese Rowan #39 of the Denver Broncos.
Rowan rejoins the Broncos along with fellow rookie undrafted free agent Marques Cox, an offensive lineman who was also with the team during the offseason program and re-signed on Tuesday.
Rowan spoke candidly about returning to the Broncos and his unexpected extended wait.
“I couldn’t be more grateful. Denver Broncos is a great program, and I’m so happy to be here,” Rowan told the Denver Gazette’s Chris Tomasson on October 22. “I was pretty surprised [by the wait], but I didn’t let that affect me. I just stayed ready and just kept working. And just hopefully – was hopeful for this call and finally came, so.”
The Broncos cut Rowan at the end of the preseason as they trimmed their roster down to 53 players.
“Rowan got call at 630 last night while on couch following workout at his Ogden, Utah home,” 9News’ Mike Klis reported on X on October 22. “Was told he had 8:55 pm flight to Denver ‘and was told, don’t miss it.’”
Dre Greenlaw Out for Week 8 vs Cowboys
GettyDre Greenlaw #57 of the San Francisco 49ers warms up before a game against the Los Angeles Rams.
The Broncos will miss Greenlaw’s presence in Week 8, when they host the Cowboys, as Dak Prescott is adept at finding the weakness in a defense. Broncos linebackers have struggled in coverage this season.
Notably, the Broncos have not made any moves at linebacker, signaling their confidence in Alex Singleton and Greenlaw’s fill-in, Justin Strnad, who was a hero with an interception in Week 7.
Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson has 51 catches for 334 yards and 6 touchdowns this season.
The Broncos (5-2) are 4.5-point favorites over the Cowboys (3-3-1), per Vegas Insider as of Wednesday, underscoring the confidence in them. Greenlaw’s absence is key, but the Broncos played the first six games of the campaign without him and went 4-2 in the process.
Josh Buckhalter covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. He has covered both leagues since 2016, including bylines at FanSided, Last Word on Sports and Clocker Sports. He’s based in Villa Park, Illinois. Follow Josh on Twitter and Instagram: @JoshGBuck More about Josh Buckhalter
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